The NHL’s salary cap could soon reach $150 million

Vincent Larue
The NHL’s salary cap could soon reach $150 million
Credit: X @TrendingSportsP

Yesterday, the idea of an NHL player earning $30 million per season in a few years might have seemed completely crazy.

It may be much less crazy than we think.

Alan Walsh recently predicted that we could see contracts reach $30 million annually within four years. As my colleague Raphael Simard pointed out yesterday, however, the salary cap would have to rise to at least $150 million for a player to earn that much.

Now, that famous $150 million figure has just resurfaced.

In the latest episode of the DFO Rundown, Jeff Marek recounted having dinner with an NHL executive last week. According to him, that executive's organization estimates that the salary cap could reach $150 million in five years.

Let's just say that Walsh's prediction has suddenly gained a bit more credibility.

Of course, we're still talking about projections. No one can guarantee today that the cap will actually be that high in 2031. Remember that the salary cap for the upcoming season is $104 million.

Just look at how quickly things have changed recently.

Marek and Jason Gregor point out that for several years, teams had virtually no extra wiggle room, since the cap barely rose at all. The situation is now completely different, and players are already starting to take advantage of it.

Cale Makar is probably the best example of this.

His new contract will pay him $20.4 million per season when it takes effect in 2027–2028. That figure raises eyebrows today, but Marek asks an excellent question: What will that contract look like if the cap actually reaches $150 million a few years down the road?

Probably a lot less outrageous.

That's also what makes the coming years so fascinating. We now know the first player to break the $20 million barrier. The next milestone could come much sooner than we imagine.

A $30 million salary is still enormous, of course. But if the salary cap does indeed climb to $150 million, that amount would represent exactly 20% of a team's payroll—the maximum allowed for a single player.

That said, if a single player takes up 20% of your payroll, it becomes difficult to build a strong roster around him.

Yesterday, this possibility seemed more like a very ambitious prediction.

Today, we know that at least one NHL organization is also seriously considering a $150 million salary cap.

Suddenly, a $30 million annual contract doesn't seem so impossible anymore.


In a nutshell

– Most of the jersey number changes.

– Wow.

– A new slogan for the Senators.

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